If you have not yet registered for a free, online account with the state's new online death certification system, now is the time - after Jan. 1 all death certificates must be submitted online.
Clinicians who sign death certificates or could need to sign one in future must
register with the NC Database Application for Vital Events (NC DAVE) to certify deaths. The account request process takes just a minute or two to complete. Under state law, physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners may certify deaths. Individuals who sign death certificates are referred to as “medical certifiers”.
The NC Office of Vital Records has notified NCMB that clinicians who have been identified as high-volume medical certifiers will receive priority and should have full access to NC DAVE by the Jan. 1 deadline. Clinicians who have been deemed mid- or low-volume certifiers may have to wait a little longer. Vital Records estimates these certifiers will have full acesss by Feb. 1.
To keep death certificates moving during the transition, Vital Records will accept paper death certificates through Feb. 28, 2022.
The state rolled the NC DAVE system out on a pilot basis statewide over the past year. Some medical certifiers are using the online system, but state officials are concerned that many still are not aware of NC DAVE and may not be ready for the impending deadline.
Vital Records is presenting a live, online "refresher" training on Dec. 28 at 6 p.m. Register for the session.
The online NC DAVE system is intended to make the process of certifying deaths faster, easier and more accurate. The Web-based system incorporates time savers such as built-in error checking and real-time verification of the decedent’s Social Security Number and is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Please direct questions about the new electronic death registration system to NC Vital Records Field Services at (919) 792-5991.
